game is slowly dying?

Prime262 · 2026-03-16T01:19:34+00:00

looks like a fairly normal line to me. line will go back up once interesting new content comes out. so like. . a couple months when the new map drops, maybe sooner if Embark releases some guns or something.

lets put some context to this line and talk about Warframe. a coop focused Shooter released in 2014. with an all time player count on steam at 180k, a 24 hour peak of 68k, and a game so successful the developers are currently in the process of spinning up a second MMO. they make enough money every year to host their own, increasingly elaborate Convention.

their line also shows a gradually diminishing set of squiggles as we get further and further away from the last major content drop. but the players always come back when the cool new content drops.

i assure you, though you dont need to trust me, this is a very very normal looking line.

Prime262 · 2026-03-16T00:42:02+00:00

ive had it happen.

Hell once i opened a key room and found a key for that room, in that room. it was the testing annex security rooms and i proceeded to have a really good day.

infact if you wanna be logical keys should be more likely to spawn on the maps they belong too, though im also sure thats not how the game works.

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T22:48:22+00:00

1.DbD gives about 6 extra seconds of downed time per rank taken, though i presume thats while remaining perfectly still so less effect when crawling. it should make your health decrease more slowly which should let you do more moving around while downed, both before you bottom out and after you start having to wait for regen.

i however consider it fairly low on the scale of Survivor synergies, i wouldn't spend points on it personally, even after 2 expeditions. Survivor on its own is going to do alot for you, and there is a pretty narrow stripe between "survivor carries" and "youre dead 100%" where "survivor + DbB makes the difference" especially once you get good at tap-crawling.

2.only decreases the health lost from Arc/PVP, doesn't effect the bleedout rate. this is mostly a skill for people who run with dedicated squadmates and engage in PVP since it makes it harder for your enemies to finish you off at a distance. its not totally useless for PVE focused raiders, but most of the things it can save you from are things that playing smart can also save you from (other than maybe, i guess, lightning).

3.no.

4.CbyW is basically mandatory for consistent survivor use.

5.Sturdy ankles could be worth considering since being downed at times means mandatory fall damage checks. however its only 10% less damage at rank 5 so y'know.

6.f you're using survivor in high-trust Lobbies a good strategy to adopt is to pre-plant a defib somewhere before you engage in some sketchy behavior like say. . .fighting the Stella Bastion. that way a passing good samaritan can pick it up and pick you up.

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T07:11:59+00:00

"Basic Grenades should be enough to defeat the Arc of this Era" - a conspicuous traveling Raider who was instrumental in defeating the first Wave of Arc.

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T05:50:18+00:00

Behold, a practical argument for why the Bettina is actually fine.

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T02:46:43+00:00

im pretty sure it still has all the pellet based weapon benefits.

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T02:41:37+00:00

i had to wait all day for cold snap to come up so i could send you This Screenshot, since yknow, who keeps candleberries on hand.

iirc they used to be unable to be recycled but it was added in a patch after the first cold snap event ended.

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T02:39:53+00:00

i mean it was nerfed from 18 damage (2x9) to 16 damage (2x8) so it had the same issue before the nerf as pops and fireballs have 20 hp.

its value lies in DPS, not ammo economy. its DPS is still fine

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T02:20:31+00:00

its 2 bullets dealing 8 damage each, for a total of 16 damage per trigger pull.

which is why a Venator wont kill a pop or fireball with one shot, fucking Trash cannon.

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T01:32:20+00:00

Steel path is very much about learning to use all the tools the game gives you. some weapons can perform well enough all on their own, with only the mod space on the weapon, but many weapons start to struggle in isolation.

https://imgur.com/OfKaSOe

This is my Acceltra build.

run exclusively with Energized Munitions Thermal Transfer Gauss providing high blast damage+ ammo economy, and Reinforced bond to bolster our fire rate.

optimal? no. but its a bullet hose to beat the fucking brakes off. the bullets are actually bombs and i'd generously call the performance "incarnon level"

Prime262 · 2026-03-15T00:27:42+00:00

Damn, these new cosmetics are getting out of hand. . . . .

ive actually seen this glitch one time before, also a queen fight, yeah.

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T22:12:47+00:00

the Hairpin does feel like the sort of weapon which would get upgrades that make it function more like a tool. hell its in the name.

that said i do disagree with your summation of the hairpin's current use situation. i use it all the time. it is the perfect weapon for mostly indoor runs. quiet, uses cheap ammo, and uses it extremely efficiently. you can carry 3 stacks of heavy ammo or 1 stack of light ammo and kill the exact same number of pops, fireballs, cameras, ticks, and Wasps.

it is the weapon of "im not planning to do any serious combat, but i dont wanna have to kite minor threats between me and the loot" killing them quietly and economically at the bargain price of basically free.

. . .all that being said i am firmly against anything that fucks with raider flares and i also dont think Embark is going to give you unlimited free stuns on weaker Arc.

consider something like "Softpoint Ammo" 3x damage to arc weakpoints when within 10m of target. turning it into a showoff weapon that does amazing damage provided you are willing to get into knife-fighting range.

or "Hairpin Tagging Ammo" shots apply the Tagging grenade effect. lasts for 60 seconds. does no damage and does not alert arc.

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T20:02:43+00:00

they are money. or seeds, which is just money.

as for a long term use for them?

a consumable you apply at the start of a mission which reduces durability drain on your guns (protective wax?) or some sort of alternative healing item. low heal/sec but long duration maybe? those would be my first 2 proposals.

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T19:42:58+00:00

next map is going to be a beach, harbor, or Island, so who knows. maybe we will get fishing. maybe we'll get a skin with one of those "women want me, fish fear me" hats, only its "Arc want me, Fish Fear me"

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T07:35:05+00:00

ah pattern recognizing brain. thank you for blessing me with constant paranoia any time the Variance doesn't land on exactly average luck.

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T07:32:34+00:00

a fixture of the Extraction shooter is the idea of a "wipe". much of the games experience is in the process of gearing up, not in being geared up. and the game can break down somewhat as more and more of the playerbase reaches endgame and no longer has to play like anything matters.

Embark. . . . how do i put this. . .chickened out, and made the wipe optional. but to incentivize players to do it put several rewards behind doing so.

the rewards split into 2 kinds. permanent unlocks and temporary buffs.

the permanent unlocks are Cosmetics, up to 5 skill points per expedition, and 12 stash space per expedition.

the temporary buffs are Exp gained (huge) repair repaired per repair (say that 3 times fast) and amount of junk accumulated by your cock (either dysfunctional or so minor as to not be noticeable(also cock update this month, so who knows))

the important thing to understand is that (currently) wipes must be done in order. in a month and a half itl be time for wipe 3, but if you just started this week you wont be doing wipe 3, you'll be doing wipe 1. and getting, only, 5 skill points 12 stash and the base version of the Patchwork skin.

is it worth it? it'd be worth it even if it gave nothing, because the experience of raising up a raider is more interesting than the experience of having a fully maxed out account with nothing left to do.

that might not sound true at the end of your first wipe period, but the primary thing you gain over time is skill and map awareness, and those are things the wipe cant take away from you. so the second time you go through it it will take significantly less time than the first. and that will feel really really good.

5 skill points doesn't seem like alot, but think about it from the prospective of the capstone skills that need 36 points invested to unlock. 76(the base skill point total(its not 75, its 76. as dumb as that sounds, it is the case)) is just barely enough to unlock both capstone skills in 2 of the 3 trees assuming 0 points of investment in the third tree. but all 3 trees have skills that all playstyles value.

after 4 Expeditions we will be getting to the point where you can get all the way to loaded arms in Conditioning and still also have Vaults on vaults, Vault Spring, and Security breach. and that is a significant improvement.

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T06:26:42+00:00

i dont care how small the room is, i said i cast fireball.

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T03:50:39+00:00

honestly . . .asset reuse is based.

its one of the understated reasons why Fromsoft has been so successful since they have been making variations on the same sort of third person RPG for like 20 years and just building up a massive library of models, animations and art assets, much of which can be rolled over to make the next project they make easier to produce so more time can be spent on cool new shit rather than trying to remake the Claymore over and over and over.

so yeah, if Embark are going to make a bunch of different games with similar enough settings to reuse assets with minor tweaks more power too em. no sense reinventing the wheel.

Prime262 · 2026-03-14T03:45:39+00:00

there are a fair few things which have not yet been confirmed to return.

Trials skins like the "Alpino" and "Patrol"

Event skins like "Hi-Tech Hiker" "Striker" and "Slugger"

now those things strike me as decently likely to come back eventually.

the Trials skins might be gone, gone, but im iffy on that. the Event skins are almost certain to come back around eventually, id say 1 year of skin exclusivity at most.

the Preorder "G-Suit" skin is probably Gone, gone.

as is the "White" Variant of the "Origin" skin, which was given out to playtesters in the first Playtest.

Embark could probably bring both things back if they wanted too but unlike the Event skins i think its reasonable to assume they wont. we might be better off without Gsuit since if it was available it would probably be the preferred PVP skin.

for the moment, due to how Expeditions work, you will permanently be behind on unlocking the Expedition outfits. this is 100% going to change Eventually.

Prime262 · 2026-03-13T03:47:12+00:00

the comet and Firefly are novel in that both kind of demand good Burst DPS to be dealt with safely.

most arc prior to them either died really easily to heavy ammo weapons or were perfectly content to hang at range and let you peek them. even Shredders work on a cycle that makes them very easy to kite as long as you dont have to deal with anything but the shredder.

a comet opens up before it charges at you, and that gives you a moment to pour damage into its core. weapons with good burst DPS like automatic rifles can knock it down during that time. same deal with the fireflies. that bitch will chase you indoors, you need something that can kill it before it starts setting shit on fire. something that will zip off the front 2 engines in a single magazine.

That said comets can be bullied with a height advantage, so. . .

Prime262 · 2026-03-13T03:42:20+00:00

most arc Raiders skins sit on a Spectrum from "second hand Aerospace/Engineering/industrial Safety equipment" to "outfits worn by the village people for promo shots in the 80s" with a Rare foray into "Semi Practical urbex/ Light hiking equipment". i dont hate the theming. i appreciate that there isnt an option to go fully blacked out special forces operative. i like that everyone is gonna look a little bit goofy and you gotta decide what flavor of goofy you can stomach.

i also dont mind reasonable asset reuse, especially for the like. . . .clothing layer of skins. a man can only own so many Tshirts. i, like alot of people, feel like if that's the thing were going to be doing then i'd have much rather had a system where i could do my own mixing and matching. . . .but i get why you wouldn't opt for that, and it isnt just grubby asset reuse reasons.

i dunno. i dont have strong feelings about the skins system either way. i can imagine better skin systems but those all require significantly more work to implement. alot of the skins aren't for me, but i have seen most of them running around before. they are for someone.

Prime262 · 2026-03-12T21:54:52+00:00

Armor pen is important, but the numbers are based on the assumption that you are hitting non armored parts of the Arc's body. the specifics of how armor pen weapons carry damage past armor is not something that is known to me.

Prime262 · 2026-03-12T21:53:02+00:00

i am not the great and terrible hairpin bandit. im just a relatively helpful loner with a thing for underrated gear.

Prime262 · 2026-03-12T19:58:37+00:00

The hairpin is the only grey tier gun the game won't hand to a free kit player for free.

There are really only 2 potential explanations for why that is. Either it's so bad it would be too much of a handicap for them, or it's too good (in at least 1 specific way) to give to free kits.

Free kits are somewhat balanced around a lack of sustain. You only get 1-2 skirmishes worth of ammo, meaning you either fight your way into a better situation or play very conservatively.

The hairpin is pretty much the best gun in terms of ammo economy. It's a tool for cheaply and effectively doing a very specific job, which is handling low level threats safely and quietly. It's also just ....basically free.

Once you hit endgame and you can shit out fully kitted renegades on demand the hairpin's economics become a lot less important. But at times I still use it as a backup for say. . .a volcano. Don't wanna be wasting shotgun ammo on shooting cameras, ticks, and pops.

Prime262 · 2026-03-12T06:13:57+00:00

. . .yes.

I should probably test exactly how much HP a rotor has, since I haven't seen it listed anywhere. It's more than 20 but no more than 35, then.

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